The field of ultrasound imaging of mammalian physiology is well known and well established. However, the methodology is dominated by certain techniques which have known limitations that are susceptible to improvement or alteration. This technology is known to be used in the imaging of various sites, such as spinal, wrist, knee, cartilaginous areas, and other musculoskeletal locations in mammals, particularly humans. The use of ultrasound for these sites generally is referred to as Quantitative Ultrasound (QUS), and is often in a competitive role with other imaging modalities.
However, there has recently been some interest in using ultrasound in a predictive role for the disease known as osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease of the skeleton in which the amount of calcium present in the bones slowly decreases to the point where the bones become brittle and prone to fracture. In other words, the bone loses density. It is estimated that over 10 million people in the United States suffer from this disease, and 18 million more have low bone mass, placing them at increased risk for this disorder. Osteoporosis is no longer considered a solely age or gender-dependent, and when diagnosed early it can often be treated successfully.
In summary, osteoporosis is a major public health problem characterized by significant morbidity, mortality, and economic burden. Bone mass measurements, using ultrasound technologies, appears to be one of the best ways to make the diagnosis of osteoporosis. However, certain improvements are needed in this emerging area of medical technology to overcome reliability and availability of imaging systems.